Lost Child About This Page:

[WDW1102]

Just thought I would post this to start a discussion about how parents plan with their children in case they get lost.
Last year at MGM, our then 10 year (who also has high functioning autism), got separated from us as we were walking to the Tower of Terror.
We had told all the kids that if they get lost--stay where they are. Look for a CM and tell them that you are lost and what our family plan was.
Sure enough, we walked back to where I thought we got separted and their was our son--crying and scared--but with a CM. It was only about a 3 minute time frame, and I am sure glad we talked about this before it happened!
What are some other's "lost child plan?"

[KimandMark]

I remember getting lost when I was a kid at FW. We got off the boat from MK and in the crowd I lost my parents. I walked for a minute or two before I realized it and then did what mom and dad told me to do over and over again...STAY PUT, sit down right where you are and don't move even if an adult asks you to, tell them you are lost and that your parents are looking for you, and tell them they can wait with you. Worked for both me and brother, and he got lost much more often than I did

[turtle280]

My dd is three and is quite the wanderer, so this is something that I have been thinking a lot about. I am going to fold over a note card (so no one wandering around can see the information) and put her name, our names, our hotel and room number, and cellphone number as well as what walkie talkie channel we will be communicating on, laminate it and safety pin it to the back of her t-shirt. I will also be sure to have a photograph taken within days of our leaving with me to help CM's locate her quickly...how many 3 foot tall blondes wearing a pooh t-shirt do you think there are at MK on a given day??? Hopefully, that will return her to us very quickly. More than that, hopefully, we don't have to test the system!

[Yoopermom156]

OMG, this happened to us in DD last Sept to my then 4yr old. One thing we did from that day forward was to take a picture with our digital camera every morning before we left for the parks. This way they would have exactly what she looked like and was wearing that day in case it happened again.

Dawn

[SMG]

I have just been thinking of this myself...not for my youngest DS (like you would assume) but for the 13 yr old!! He has ADD is get distracted very easy. It happened once at Sea World in San Antonio when he was 8, and was a horrible experience! He still remembers asking a lady to help him find his parents and all she said to him (an EIGHT yr old) was "I don't know your parents" and left him! I was thinking of giving him my mom's cell to put in his pocket, for "emergencies" only, then he could call me on mine.

[DISNEYGOOF]

Our friends son got lost from us (he went one way
while we went the other) I stayed where we lost him
with the remaining 3 kids & my DH went with the other
couple to look. Not 3 minutes later a CM walked past
me with my friends crying 7 year old. I got him and
the others returned soon. I have to say the CM's
really did a good job, staying with him til parents
were found.

[MagicLover]

On our last trip we lost my 5 year old son in Epcot. We were in Germany, and my friend and my daughter had walked ahead some, and I stopped to look at a cart while my son sat in the stroller with me. He decided he wanted to catch up with the other two and jumped out of the stroller unbeknownst to me. When he didn't find them, he reversed direction but went right past Germany (I didn't see him). His jumping out and reversing direction must have happened very quickly.

Once I realized he was gone the CM at the cart I was visiting immediately stepped into action. We looked for him in the immediate area. Then my friend returned with my daughter and he wasn't with them. They took a detailed description of what he was wearing down to his shoes. My friend and the CM of the cart were both looking for him, and Disney security showed up as well. I was instructed to stay right where I had lost him, and it was agonizing not being able to look for him. The security folks were immediately on the walkie talkies trying to locate him.

It turns out that after he reversed direction he just kept running and ended up at the DVC booth by the American Adventure. The CM there took him in and talked to him until security arrived. They walked him back to us and gave him stickers on the way.

It was the longest 10 minutes of my life! After that my son has always been really good about staying right with us. It is definitely good to have a plan and to know exactly what the kids are wearing (down to the shoes).

[Disney Fan]

Thanks for this post! As we're planning our next trip, I forgot that DD will not have been there in about 15 months and she's 3 now, and that is very different than just under 2. She is going to want to walk a lot more, etc. Also, we're going with grandparents and an aunt, and while it seems that more adults=more supervision, that may not be the case. I now will add the routine of what happens if you can't find our family talk to our repetoire in the morning! I can't thank you enough for potentiallyn helping us prevent an incident!

[kaymeg]

I know the last time we went to WDW our DD turned 2 years old. I used one of those child harnasses when she was out of the stroller and kept it on her when she was in the stoller and hooked just incase she became too curious when I turned my back for one minute. Before I had kids I would think those "leashes" were horrible, but my comfort level at the park, knowing I knew where she was at all times, I was able to relax and enjoy my time at park just as much as her!!

[LuckyPup]

What Disney usually tells the CMs is to stay with the child and look in the immediate area for the parents (who are usually frantic, crying and much more panic-y than the child ). If you don't find the parents within a reasonable amount of time (most reunions occur within five-ten minutes), then you would take the child to the baby center or Town Hall. But a usual good rule of thumb is to tell a child to look for a female CM to ask for help. Why a female? Cause women (sorry guys) are less likely to be dangerous to a child. Not a 100% certainty, but slightly safer. Also, you want the child to know what hotel you are staying in, how to get a hold of you, what your names are, etc. You could even get a Passporter pouch to put the info in. Also, please don't yell at your kid for getting lost. I used to see this all the time, and I hated it. Even though you might want to kill them for putting you through a 10 minute heart attack, be thankful that you got the little Houdini back!

Sidenote: As a kid, I never got lost at WDW. However, I would routinely get lost in grocery stores at home! Mom would tell me to put an item back, or to go get an item, and by the time I had gotten back, she'd be three aisle ahead! Think she was trying to tell me something?

[WEDway Guy]

I just want to thank WDW1102 for posting this topic/question. We're heading the WDW with our 2 1/2 yr old DD (and 3 mos. old DD) in December. I was thinking about how to handle the "lost" issue one day but then forgot to do anything about it. I'm not sure what I can expect a 2 1/2 yr old to remember but it never hurts to tell her the info I just learned here, i.e. stay put, find a CM or wait till one finds you, let DD know to show CM info card. I love the ideas of the information card and daily picture to document exactly what she's wearing.

Thanks Again!

[Disneyphile's Wife]

As the mother of a 8yo with ADHD, we are experts at the whole Lost Child thing. Some of the things we have learned:

1. [ QUOTE ]
while it seems that more adults=more supervision, that may not be the case

[/ QUOTE ] This has a major flaw. More adults can also mean "I thought he was with you". This happened to us in the big store in Animal Kingdom. DS was 4yo at the time and had 5 adults watching him. So, of course, he wandered out one of the many entrances, without any of us. Security found him and stayed in the area with him.

2. For a wanderer, tell them to keep one of the adults from getting lost: they're more likely to stay with whichever one you name.

3. You can get a name tag at Guest Services at any of the parks. You fill it in with the necessary information and pin it to the tag in the back of the child's shirt. Hanging inside, it isn't obvious to everyone walking past. Make sure the child knows it's there and why. (Better than relying on memory; an upset child doesn't have much.)

4. If you have lots of trouble with this, you can always do what we've done: tell the child that Disney Security only gives you three strikes and then you're banned from the parks.

[Irene]

<font color="purple"> I've just added this to my checklist. There will be 3 adults with a 2 year old and 5 year old. Its amazing how quickly they move.

Thanks for the post </font>

[AngelaVa]

Not only do CM's help with little ones they also help you find teenagers too.

Last trip DH, DD &amp; I were playing in Innoventions and DH and I turned around to see what DD was doing... GONE, She was there just a few seconds ago.
The thoughts that went thru my mind. DH and I both went in different directions, when we meet up a few minters later neither of us had seen her.
A CM saw that I was very upset with tears in my eyes. She asked who were we missing? I told her our DD and what she was wearing. The CM told us both to stay there and not to move. With in a few minutes here comes the Cm and our DD. She was more upset then we were. She thought we had left her. We thank the CM so much, she had tear in her eyes too. We got her name and wrote a letter to WDW about how helpful she was.
This was the longest 5 minutes we had that trip.

Even though DD was 19 (looks 13) at the time, to loss your child at any age is a big fear now days.

Angela

[Kerrya]

Just an idea ID braclets the kind my daughter wheres for medical reasons you can get some realy nice ones and have anything you want put on the back ie: cell phone # parents name if the child is very young there name. most will know the braclets but can not be read by passerbys. the braclets are hard for little ones to take off.